Wisdom and Work

From whom do we seek advice? Is it from those who do the job or from those who make the rules?

The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; only the one who has little business can become wise. How can one become wise who handles the plough, and who glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about bulls?  He sets his heart on ploughing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers. So it is with every artisan and master artisan who labours by night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety; they set their heart on painting a lifelike image, and they are careful to finish their work. So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil, intent on his ironwork; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he struggles with the heat of the furnace; the sound of the hammer deafens his ears, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration. So it is with is the potter sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet; he is always deeply concerned over his products, and he produces them in quantity. He moulds the clay with his arm and makes it pliable with his feet; he sets his heart on finishing the glazing, and he takes care in firing the kiln. All these rely on their hands, and all are skillful in their own work. Without them no city can be inhabited, and wherever they live, they will not go hungry. Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly. They do not sit in the judge's seat, nor do they understand the decisions of the courts; they cannot expound discipline or judgement, and they are not found among the rulers. But they maintain the fabric of the world, and their concern is for the exercise of their trade. How different the one who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High! - Sirach 38:24-34

Sirach attempts to show us what we value in life.

We go to the artisans for the things we need, but when it comes to seeking council, we rely on those who are learned, not in crafts, but in texts.

Those who maintain the fabric of the world are not those who sit in judgment or who  make the rules.

For centuries, that was the wisdom of the ages, the way things worked, and we were fine with that.

Those who are well educated in matters of law should be the ones who guide us in all matters of state, right?

But what if they have no knowledge of how things get done?

How can they rule over those who build and maintain the world they seek to manage?

Luckily, for us, we get to decide who we send to make the rules.  It isn't ordained by a select group of learned individuals, but instead our leaders are chosen, elected.

So, if we want our voices heard, we need to support those who put our desires and needs forth as priorities.

That way, wisdom and work go hand in hand.

More to come...